Quest
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: Just what happens when Tony and Abby discover Tim's Mother of All Secrets?  This is part of my Here and Now scenario.
1. Unexpected Journey

Unexpected Journey

The television set flickered off with a dimming of color tubes and lights and a sudden silence. Abby and Tony got up from their comfortable sofa cushions and stretched.

Tony set the remote down on the coffee table and started gathering their empty cups and the empty popcorn bowl.

"Wow!" Abby remarked, "I had forgotten some of those parts. This was almost like seeing the movie for the very first time."

Tony smiled his agreement, "Nothing comparable to _ET _has been created since, and probably will not be in the next several years. You call what we just had the honor of viewing a cinematic masterpiece of epic proportion."

"That was a good suggestion that we watch this one tonight, Tony." Abby commented, generously giving him all the credit for the choice. "I am going to go to sleep thinking about how cute little ET was."

She paused, and then held up a hand. "That's why I like him! Now I understand. ET reminds me of my Timmy."

Tony threw his head back and laughed with delight at that. "You hit the nail on the head. Timmy does look kind of like another creature."

Both began moving towards the stairs, cutting off the living room lamps en route.

Tony motioned to the house's upper level. "Go ahead, Baby Girl. I'll clean up the dishes tonight."

He smiled and she blew him a kiss as she headed for bed.

A minute later, though, she reversed herself and descended a couple of steps. Frowning, she asked worriedly, "Should we be concerned about Gibbs? Shouldn't he be home by now?"

Their boss had left around nine, just as they were settling in to their evening of cinema viewing.

Tony gathered the last of their movie watching dishes and shook his head. "No, you know he said he'd be very late tonight. He and Fornell wanted to get together to join forces for something. He's ok, Baby Girl."

That satisfied Abby, and she went on to her room.

Tony followed a few minutes later, tiptoeing quietly into his own room so as not to disturb Abby, whose own bedroom was across the hall.

He showered before he cut out his lights and crawled into bed, sighing in contentment as he snuggled deeply within the covers.

Sleep had barely overtaken him before a blast of harsh light woke him. Attempting to ignore it he turned groggily in his bed to the opposite side. He covered his head with one of the pillows to block the disturbance. The illumination brightened, though, and intensified, and suddenly his entire room was lit with a pulsing, all consuming glow.

He sat up with irritation then, resigned to the fact that he had obviously slept pretty hard through the night and had managed then to oversleep as a consequence. It must be mid morning by now.

Strangely, Gibbs hadn't come to make him get up, or sent Abby to wake him either.

His boss must be off his game. Maybe he and Fornell had stayed out later than usual.

Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he realized that a slight humming vibrated through the room and he looked around in confusion to pinpoint its source. In the corner, near the window, Tim McGee studied him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Noticing that Tony's eyes had opened, Tim moved decisively towards him, and the closer he got the more Tony's bewilderment increased. The visitor certainly looked like Tim- it had Timmy's distinctive face, but in actuality, the body mirrored ET's.

Tony's eyes widened suspiciously. Though Tim certainly had never resembled a body builder, he certainly did not possess such a skinny torso or pathetically skinny arms.

Who was this? Was it Tim, or ET, or someone or something else entirely?

Tony scrambled to prop himself against the headboard, alert to the fact that he needed to have his wits about him.

Probie noticed his wariness, and witnessing Tony's alarm increasing by the second, he moved to stem it with reassurance. Reaching out a hand in a calming gesture, he spoke softly. "Don't panic, Tony. I'm going to explain everything to you in just a couple of minutes."

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders as a sign that he desired some type of acknowledgement, and Tony nodded, "Ok, I got it."

Then realizing that McGee would think he had frightened him, he quickly attempted to recover and set the record straight. After all, he did have a tough guy reputation to protect.

"I don't panic! You, on the other hand, conduct yourself with paranoia, vulnerable to a host of fears, McTimid."

McGee smiled broadly, his tone reminiscent of a parent with a toddler. "Good, then, Brave One- now you need to get dressed, though. Abby's already on the ship and we need you to hurry. We don't have that much time before Boss returns from Fornell's."

Tony didn't ask for details right then, but got up and quickly pulled on jeans and a sweater. "Let me run to the restroom a second and brush my teeth," he spoke as he grabbed shoes and disappeared into the hall. The excuse of brushing his teeth gave him a couple of minutes to get his thoughts into some semblance of order.

Returning within a couple of minutes, he walked hurriedly across the room to join his teammate, who stood beside the window.

"Are you ready now?" McGee asked solicitously.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Tony responded. "Where are we going, though, Tim?"

"No questions right now, Tony, ok? All will be explained to you soon." McGee's voice was firm, and Tony reached out to touch him.

McGee seemed to understand. "You want to know why I look like an extra terrestrial." Taking Tony's right hand, he placed it upon his own left shoulder. "I can assure you that this is real- my real body. I am real and standing beside you."

Tony snatched back his hand and then chided himself for his own rudeness. He smiled shyly. "Sorry-"

Tim nodded, then motioned towards the window. "We are going out that way, through the opening."

Tony started to follow, then questioned nervously, "You said Abby's out there all ready?"

"Yep-"

"Ok, but what about Boss?"

Tim sighed impatiently, "Tony, quit being such a scaredy cat. You will join Abby in two minutes. As for Gibbs, well, you know that sometimes we have to keep secrets from him, for our own survival and best interests. Come on, and I will look after you, I promise."

Tony bristled at that, "You, McBaby? I don't think so! I have spent years protecting you and watching out for you, not the opposite- not the other way around, with you looking out for me."

"Ok, ok, it doesn't even matter in the circumstances. Are you with us on the quest, or not? Decide quickly."

Tony turned a triumphant gaze his way, then gingerly stepped through his window.

Instantly the noise increased to a rock concert level and Tony felt himself begin to spin, though his body did not go topsy turvy at all. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to gain control over his equilibrium, and waited until the noise stopped and silence engulfed him before opening his eyes.

"What is this?" he whispered, trying to orient himself in the strange surroundings, trying to make sense of what he saw.

Definitely he stood in the control cabin of some type of transport.

"This, Tony Dinozzo, is my spacecraft," McGee answered in the tone one would use to teach a new concept to a school child. "Take a seat, please."

Tony managed another stunned look around, then swallowed and sat quietly, gazing from one focal point to another.

With some relief, then trepidation, he discovered that Abby sat across from him in an overstuffed chair which matched his own.

Could she be in danger?

Was he in danger?

Would their very own McGee cause harm to them in some way?

Tony shuddered and focused upon the probie agent. Tim sat in a seat evidently reserved for the captain, the driver, and had his hands on the steering control as he peered through the windscreen into the blackness beyond.

Abby spoke at last, her voice high and excited, "Thanks for finally allowing me to indulge in my fantasy space journey, Timmy! I am in awe. How long will the excursion take?"

That caused alarm bells for Tony. "Wait, what excursion is this? We don't need to go anywhere except back inside. Boss will slap us senseless for disappearing on a spacecraft! There won't be enough words among the three of us to save ourselves from his wrath."

Tim turned from the controls and removed his headset, allowing it to rest against the nape of his neck. He smiled indulgently, "Inside where?"

"Our house- I mean Boss's house. He will freak if he finds we have disappeared. Plus, he expects me to watch out for Baby Girl and not let her get hurt."

"Perhaps, but I can not possibly just jettison you out at the moment. Look around you- we have sailed past the Milky Way."

Abby's eyes widened and she clapped eagerly, "Wow! I did not realize we had begun to travel. This is so wonderful! Look out there- I do not see anything except stars."

"As it should be," Tim reassured, turning to gaze out of the front windshield and replacing the headphones.

Abby and Tony looked questioningly at each other. He raised his eyebrows, and she giggled.

Tony didn't disguise his suspicion, "Did you set us up for this?"

She smirked, "Kinda sorta, I guess."

"What does kinda sorta mean?" he demanded, mimicking her voice.

"Ok, I told Timmy I wanted to find out his MOAS, his Mother of all Secrets. Actually, I started trying to guess it the very first day that I met him. Remember how mysterious he appeared?"

"I do not. Timmy does not make a lasting first impression on anyone. I remember him as naïve and gullible, but mysterious? I don't think so," Tony grumbled.

"What about _Deep Six_? He hit us broadside with that one. Even Gibbs didn't know that Tim had authored a novel and had gotten it published," Abby pointed out.

"What does this have to do with the book?" Tony leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. "Say? How does the book tie into this?"

"It doesn't," Abby responded. "I just meant to remind you that our Timmy comes to us in multiple, complex layers."

The captain interrupted their analysis of him, swiveling in his seat to point towards the right side of the spaceship, "Focus over there, now, because we have passed Saturn and skirted Neptune. Look quickly and you will see those famous planetary rings from a distance. I get a thrill myself every time I pass them."

Abby and Tony followed the command, and both stared transfixed at the world outside of their enclosure. Nothing could prepare or hint at how this universe actually appeared when encountered.

They drank in the sight, trying to memorize all of the nuances of the beautiful scene.

Tim turned back to the controls, made some adjustments, and the ship altered course a bit.

Tony and Abby resumed their conversation.

"Why does Timmy have a body like E. T.'s?" Abby asked in a whisper, pulling gently on one of her pigtails and then twirling it around a finger.

"How would I know the answer to that, Abby?" Tony hissed in reply. "You are the McGee expert. You tell me."

"Hmmm…" Abby studied her friend's back. "I guess I will ask him later."

With that, both settled back against their luxurious cabin chairs, moving until they were seated comfortably. The arms of each one held controls to activate either a massage, soothing heat, calming chilled air, or gentle tickling applications for the occupants.

Tony persisted, "You still didn't tell me how you arranged this, Baby Girl."

"Actually, I can not take credit for booking this tour. You remember when you stayed back to finish cleaning the kitchen after the video finished?"

Tony nodded. "I do."

"Well, when I got upstairs I took my shower, and just as I settled into the bed, there was a really loud knock on my door. I thought you had finished cleaning and wanted to say good night, but it was my Timmy. He motioned for me to follow him, and he led us right through your room and out your window. I had actually just gotten seated when he appeared again with you."

Abby had chosen the heat feature for her chair and drew her knees up in her seat and wrapped her arms around her legs. She rested her chin on her knees and regarded Tony thoughtfully.

"Ok," Tony answered, satisfied with the explanation. He too, rearranged himself, working the controls and leaning into the chair's massage.

Before they could begin another conversation, Tim stood up and removed his headphones. He walked back over to both of them and grinned broadly. "What can I get you?"

Tony laughed uneasily, and Abby attempted a smile.

Neither answered, suddenly a bit wary of this unfamiliar Timmy McGee.

Tim instantly sobered. "Hey, you have nothing to concern you. You should know me well enough now to realize I will never harm you."

Abby glanced around nervously, "Uhm….Timmy, I don't mean to be a backseat driver, but don't you need to get back to driving the ship?"

Tim nodded thoughtfully, "It's quite all right, Abby. I put it on auto pilot, so it's actually fine. I wanted to have a chance to visit with you two. It's not any fun having guests if I don't get to socialize when you are with me."

With that, he took a seat across from them and leaned his head against the chair's back as he swiveled gently from side to side.

His passengers attempted to mask their nervousness and glanced at each other for reassurance.

Abby frowned as she suddenly thought about what Gibbs would say if he discovered that the three of them had been gallivanting all over space.

Tony seemed to have read her mind, because he frowned and glanced out the window, craning his head to find Earth in the middle of the galaxy.

"Ok," Tim directed, taking charge of the conversation the way he had taken charge of the journey and their participation in it. "You probably want to fit together the puzzle pieces. That, I understand, knowing that I am in the company of a top notch special agent and a gifted forensic scientist."

He ended with a chuckle, hoping to ease their concern.

"Are you a good guy or a bad guy?" Abby spoke tremulously.

Before McGee could formulate a response, Tony added, "Tim, are you a man, or are you an alien?"

An uncomfortable silence followed, and all three shifted nervously in their seats.

Tony tried to elaborate. "I mean, or I guess, we just need to know who our partner teammate has honestly been for the last few years. Right? That is a reasonable concern for us."

Tim nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "Right, of course you do, and you deserve an explanation from me, yes."

Tony and Abby waited expectantly, but the pause stretched to a point where it reached the unbearable level. Tim obviously did not know quite how to proceed with a reasonable explanation which would satisfy his friends.

Abby spoke next, softly addressing him. "Does Gibbs know, Timmy?"

"Know what?" McGee attempted to produce a huge grin, but it fell short. He looked self conscious, instead.

"I am asking if he knows that you are not Timmy McGee, the probie baby he hired."

"He's still that," Tony corrected with a smirk. "He will always be the itty bitty baby probie at NCIS."

McGee rolled his eyes as Abby giggled, and that broke through some of their self conscious musing. A bit of the awkwardness among them vanished.


	2. Back from the Beyond

Back from the Beyond

Tim took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Ok, well, I think that all of you know by now that my dad was military- strict military, at that."

"The Great Santini," Tony added, recalling that detail from a conversation years earlier.

"Right," Tim confirmed, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Anyway, when he and my mom met, the old man was smitten with her. I mean he fell hard for her."

Tony and Abby settled back into their seats and relaxed, realizing that a good story would be forthcoming.

Instead of elaborating, however, McGee shook his head and asked solicitously, "Could I get you two something to drink?"

"Quit stalling, Timmy, and finish the tale," Abby ordered, wrinkling her nose.

Sighing, Tim obeyed. "Right, yes- so my dad fell hard for my mom, and he decided he just had to marry her on their first date. My mom, however, was already pretty serious about another guy, someone who had been a high school love. So she kept herself up front with my dad, and told him that she probably would marry the other guy. That crushed my father, and he begged her to reconsider after giving him a chance to prove how specially he would always treat her. She felt sorry for him, and so agreed."

Tim took a deep breath and then excused himself briefly to go check the auto pilot and their travel progress.

Tony leaned over and spoke quietly to Abby, "Our Timmy hides secrets from us."

When McGee returned he picked up the thread of conversation again.

"My dad racked his brain to come up with an outing that would just stun my mom, that would sweep her off her feet. He had a good friend who was a lead astronaut and had gone on several space missions. Calling in all of his favors with the guy, my father got the man to agree to help them stowaway on the next space mission."

Tim licked his lips. "Three months later my mother was oohing and aahing at the Milky Way, which she could simply reach out and touch from their rocket."

"Wow!" Abby interjected. "Oh wow, I would give anything to get to experience that!"

"Imagine the bedtime stories you could tell your grandkids," Tony added.

Tim continued his account. "So the only caveat was that my dad's pal told my parents they could not step out of the ship for any reason until they landed back on Earth. Nevertheless, when the friend and his partner went out to gather space rocks to bring back down for study at NASA headquarters, my mom just could not resist. She sneaked out and followed the astronauts at a discreet distance. When they disappeared behind a boulder, she thought she had lost them and became frightened, terrified to be out there all alone."

"Oh no," Abby clapped her hand over her mouth, "poor Timmy's mommy!"

Tony raised his eyebrows and contributed, "That would be scarier than meeting up with Freddy Kruger!"

McGee smiled slightly. "She started to run, and tripped over some space debris, which caused her to sprain her ankle. My mother realized she couldn't walk back to the ship, so in defeat, she got ready to just crawl back to the safety of the rocket. Just as she began, a voice called out to her, and she turned to discover an extra terrestrial being walking towards her. Rather that fear it, she pointed to her foot and pantomimed her need for help. The alien did not utter a sound, but it leaned down and scooped her up, then carried her all the way back to the spacecraft."

Abby began clapping delightedly. "Go Alien, go Alien!"

"Then what happened, Timmy?" Tony prodded his friend, eager for him to continue the tale.

McGee rubbed his chin. "Well, as soon as they got to the craft they ran into my dad, who was just starting out to search for his date, my mom. She hurriedly told him that the extra terrestrial had saved her and had brought her back. My dad was so grateful that he leaned out and touched the hero, telling it that he hoped when he had a child his offspring would share the being's characteristics."

"Awww…how sweet!" Abby responded.

"Well, just as soon as he uttered those words, my dad's body lit like a Christmas tree from the one point of contact he and the alien had, my father's hand on its shoulder. Then as fast as the streak of light illuminated his body, it disappeared, along with the stranger."

Tim stopped, and Tony clapped his hands and whistled. "Oh no, McAlien, you did not finish! Get right back to where you were in the tale. , We want the rest of the story."

McGee agreed with him. "Once back on Earth my parents began to suspect that they had experienced some type of break with reality on the journey, so they kept the details of the encounter to themselves. They certainly did not think that the incident actually occurred, though they could not figure out how they both could have experienced it had they not lived it. They married shortly after that."

"That's a bummer, not understanding the reality," Tony sympathized.

"True," McGee acknowledged. "A year later, though, they welcomed me into the world, and in the course of a few months discovered that every few weeks, in the middle of the night, I would transform into a mixture of human and extra terrestrial, and would remain that way for roughly four hours. As a kid, I would systematically design space vehicles or study galactic issues during those intervals, but as I matured, I would actually journey on space jaunts around the galaxy."

"How did you know where to go, and how did you get transportation?" questioned Tony.

"That is the strange part," Tim admitted. "The evening of the very day I got my driver's license here on Earth, I looked out my bedroom window and a space ship hovered, the engine just idling. I went aboard, and though I was a bit nervous about navigating my own craft by myself, I did it."

Abby frowned, "What about your appearance? When does it change? I mean, when did it first change?"

Tim nodded, "Well, it's all part of the same deal. At those specific times when I am drawn to other constellations, I actually feel my body morph into that of a being more suited for outer space. It is so usual now that I rarely even realize that a change is occurring."

"That is just incredible, McTraveller," Tony decided, shaking his head thoughtfully.

Silence descended and Tim stood up and made his way back to the controls. "I need to get you two back. It has gotten late."

"You never answered the question, Timmy," Abby called out to him. "About Gibbs, you never told us if he knew all of this."

Tim turned back and smiled shyly, "Do you really think I could hide something like this from him all of these years?"

"You hid it from us!" Abby responded.

Tony shook his head slowly, comprehending Tim's reply. "Aah, but we are not Gibbs."

Tim clapped softly. "Exactly, and now my concern lies in the present. I promised Boss I would return you both unscathed from the quest before morning. He realizes how vulnerable you are. You two lean back in your chairs, please, until the landing is complete."

Before Abby and Tony could reply to that Tim slapped on the headphones and took control of the craft back from the auto pilot.

Tony glanced at Abby before closing his eyes and leaning back against the seat's cushion. He felt drowsy, and content, and he wanted to absorb what he had learned about Tim.

A blast of light woke him, and he tried to ignore it and turned groggily in his bed to the opposite side. The illumination brightened, though, and intensified, and suddenly his entire room was lit with a pulsing glow.

He sat up in a panic. How had he gotten into his bed? The last thing he remembered involved Tim's plan to get him home, but not that he had actually- physically- arrived home.

"Tony!" Gibbs called urgently. "Look up now."

Tony focused on his door and saw Jethro leaning in the room, his hand on the light switch. Tony realized instantly that had been the pulsating light he'd just experienced.

He shook his head to clear it.

"Hey, Boss, I just actually got to sleep. Tim and Abby…."

Jethro interrupted, speaking softly but firmly and moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "Abby's asleep. We don't want to wake her up, do we?"

Tony's face clouded in confusion and he turned to Jethro with a sad expression. "Boss, why didn't you tell me McGee had an alien background?" He puffed out his lip a bit into a pout as he questioned his mentor.

Immediately, Gibbs smacked the back of Tony's head and reprimanded, "How many times have I told you to quit calling McGee names?"

His senior field agent stared incredulously. "Wait, hold on. What time is it?"

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders and then brushed back Tony's bangs. "Son, it is just a bit after two."

"In the morning?" Tony tried to clarify.

"Yes, in the morning. I got in a little while ago and heard you when I was on my way to bed. You must have had some kind of dream, because you talked pretty loudly in your sleep. Now that you're calm, though, you can go back to bed."

Tony wiped his mouth and digested the information, nodding his agreement.

His boss stood then, but threatened, "Let me tell you right now that you and Abby just had your last evening sitting up watching those space movies if you are going to be this vulnerable to nightmares."

With, that, he flicked the light off, turned decisively and headed to his own room, leaving Tony's bedroom door cracked.

Tony gingerly stretched. That dream had consumed all of his energy. He should have realized that a night in which Timmy took charge and gave orders would have to be fiction!

Sheepishly, he quietly got out of bed and made his way to his bedroom window and peered out, recalling some of the details of the illusion.

He carefully scrutinized his window sill and the yard for evidence of unusual activity. Then remembering with embarrassment that his boss knew a dream had gotten the better of him, he muttered under his breath, "Ok, well, vulnerable is all in the beholder's interpretation!"


End file.
